One of the photographs displayed in Thomas Markle's home. Photo / 60 Minutes
One of the photographs displayed in Thomas Markle's home. Photo / 60 Minutes
Meghan Markle's father, Thomas, has given an emotional interview to Channel 9's 60 Minutes about his strained relationship with the Duchess and Duke of Sussex.
Speaking from his home in Rosarito, Mexico, Markle expressed his desperation to bury the hatchet with estranged daughter Meghan and her husband Harry so that he could embrace life as a grandfather to Lilibet "before it was too late".
A repentant Markle, 76, who lives just a few hours away from the couple, expressed his deep sadness about one of the most notorious family feuds in history, and said he will "never give up hope" of a reconciliation.
"I'm not a tearful type," he said.
"But I keep everything in here. I don't really let it out like that, but I'm certainly hurt by a lot of it … I've said I'm sorry about the initial problem, if I've said anything today that offended anyone I'm sorry too."
But it wasn't long before he was pointing the finger at everyone else, slamming Meghan as "cold" and saying he doesn't understand why she won't forgive him despite his apologies.
Thomas Markle appeared emotional at times. Photo / 60 Minutes
In March, Markle made headlines when he hand delivered Oprah Winfrey a note asking her to interview him about his relationship with Meghan, after the Duchess spoke of her father's "betrayal" for lying about posing for paparazzi pictures. It was a move that she said led to problems with protecting her children.
Markle said he has apologised for the paparazzi deal but later called Harry "snotty", adding fuel to the fire.
"I apologised a hundred times for it," he said of that time.
"I'm not bitter, I'm confused. I just don't have the answer. I want the answer.
"If I had done something terribly wrong, that would be fine, but I haven't."
One of the photographs displayed in Thomas Markle's home. Photo / 60 Minutes
Markle said he hasn't spoken to his daughter since she married Harry three years ago, and hasn't met his son-in-law and his two grandchildren.
"I haven't spoken to her since I was laying in a hospital bed two days before they got married," Markle said.
Speaking of the silence he's received from his daughter, Markle said: "I don't know of anybody that's that cold to do this. And now, like I said, Meghan did it to me and Harry's doing it to his father. That's a cold thing to do.
"And it's even more cold to do it to the Queen, who's in her nineties. None of this makes sense."
Markle complained that convicted murderers in prison even got to see their families.
"Of course it hurts," he said.
"There are axe murderers in prison, their family comes to see them. Right? I mean, I'm not an axe murderer. You know, I made one dumb mistake, never been forgiven for it."
"With my daughter, he said my daughter was thinking of suicide. And ... he went to the royals and they wouldn't help him. Well, you don't go to the royals, you pick up a telephone and you call a doctor.
"That's like saying, 'I wanted to leave the house, but nobody opened the door for me.' You know, it's stupid."
A photo of Meghan in her father's house. Photo / 60 Minutes
Continuing to place blame on others, he then slammed Oprah.
"I think Oprah Winfrey is playing Harry and Meghan," he said.
"I think she's using them to build her network and build her new shows and I think she's taking advantage of a very weakened man, and getting him to say things that you just shouldn't be saying on television.
"She will disagree of course, and she may even sue me, I don't care. But the bottom line is she is working Harry."
Later in the interview he took another sly dig at the talk show star, saying: "I just don't think they're (Harry and Meghan) taking the right path ... everything they're doing now seems to be going against public opinion ... the only one benefiting is Oprah."
He said it was a shame that they were both "ghosting their families", saying now they're all alone in a huge house, with just the four of them.
Markle emphasised during the interview that he doesn't believe he'll be around for much longer.
"July 18, I'll be 77 years old. Most of the Markle men don't make it much past 80.
